New Think-Tank at
University of Leicester to Improve School Pupils' Achievement Levels

May 2003
No 123

The
University of Leicester is establishing a new 'think-tank' that aims to improve
educational standards in schools and address problems of pupils'
underachievement.

The
new Centre for Studies in Raising Achievement is being established in the
University's School of Education -one of the UK's top 10 teacher training
centres.

It
will carry out research, identify and disseminate good practice relating to
strategies for improving pupils' attainment in schools while also providing
direct intervention in the classroom environment through a consultancy service.

The
new centre, launched in the spring of 2003, is the brainchild of Professor Paul
Cooper and his colleagues at the University's School of Education - Ms Rose
Griffiths, Mrs Morag Hunter-Carsch and Dr Rosemary Sage.

Professor
Cooper said: "Problems of educational underachievement are of major
international concern, having far reaching social and economic consequences.The University of Leicester School of Education has staff with national
and international reputations for their research and scholarship in this area.

"We
have, for a long time, played a leading role in scholarship in the area of
education for groups and individuals who are disadvantaged by various
circumstances.Historically,
the School of Education was given a high international profile through work of
such major figures as the late Professor Brian Simon, whose work in the area of
inequality in education has had a profound influence on generations of
educationists.

"More
recently, a number of colleagues have established reputations for their work in
the area of intervention designed to address and redress issues of inequality
and educational under achievement.The internationally respected Centre for Citizenship Studies is an
example of the way in which this work has developed."

Professor
Cooper said the Centre aims to:

·carry out research of national and international quality into the nature,
prevention and tackling of educational underachievement among children and young
people;

·promote developmental work in schools and other educational settings in
order to foster the prevention and remediation of educational underachievement;

·provide advanced education and training to educators and other
professionals;

·provide consultancy services;

·engage with local and national agencies in the promotion of knowledge and
understanding of educational underachievement and its remedies.

Professor
Cooper said: "Staff from the University of Leicester are already engaged in
work on cross curricular materials for urban schools at KS2; Improving
performance in mathematics in year 6 pupils living in social priority area and
in Nurture Group provision.

"Our
educational experts are currently working on issues relating to attention
problems, communication difficulties, specific learning difficulties, language
development and inclusiveness.

"The
creation of the Centre will also help to communicate to a wide audience the
breadth and depth of expertise provided by the University's School of Education
in this area."